Committee Members Absent

Other Trustees Present

Call to Order/Approval of Minutes

Chair Twomey conducted the roll call. Quorum was not met so agenda items would be for discussion only. The conference call was convened at 11:00 a.m.

The June 3, 2003, minutes were approved with the following exception: Chair Twomey requested that the list of FAC Trustees and BOT Trustees present be corrected.

PECO Request for 2004/05-2008/09 and Reallocation of 2002/03 PECO Funds

The PECO Request for 2004/05-2008/09 and the Reallocation of 2002/03 PECO Funds were reviewed by the FAC. Chair Twomey requested comments from the conference call participants. Ms. Kendrick commented that she had no concerns, she supported the PECO requests. Dr. Bowen stated that, from a faculty point of view, the PECO list was great and suggested the committee support the request. The FAC voted to recommend that the Board of Trustees approve the PECO request.

Dr. Kline addressed the reallocation of the PECO funds. Last year, the FAC approved a $1.2 million PECO allocation for the renovations of Buildings 2 and 3. The University was requesting that the FAC reallocate those funds by using $900,000 for the Library renovation. Renovation of the Library, required prior to building the new addition, cost more than anticipated. If additional funds were not found for the project, integrity of the Library design could be compromised. The remainder of the allocation would be used for the renovation of Buildings 2 and 3.

Chair Twomey asked for any questions or comments from members of the FAC or other trustees. Ms. Kendrick asked if the University expected any additional changes next year that might not have been taken into consideration. Mr. Richard Crosby replied that the University did not anticipate any additional changes.

Mr. Halverson’s office called in to notify the FAC that he would be late. Chair Twomey said Mr. Halverson was needed for a quorum, but there was no action to be taken by the FAC. Drs. Kline and Serwatka concurred with Chair Twomey.

Ms. Kendrick requested that the University provide a quarterly update of budgeted versus actual costs in order to determine if construction was on schedule. Dr. Kline said it was an excellent idea and staff would provide the FAC with a quarterly update.

New Admissions Deposit

Chair Twomey noted that the proposal for a new admissions deposit was a sensitive issue. Dr. Kline requested that Ms. Deborah Kaye, Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Services, provide background information on the proposed new admissions deposit. Ms. Kaye said the proposal was a result of the recent passage of HB 0051A, which allowed institutions to charge a $200 non-refundable admission deposit. The deposit would be imposed at the time of an applicant’s acceptance to the university and applied toward tuition upon enrollment. However, if the applicant did not enroll, the admissions deposit would be placed in an auxiliary account. The University was requesting approval of this proposal for several reasons. The first reason was for enrollment planning. It was difficult to anticipate how many students would attend the University. The yield rate was the percentage of students who were admitted and then later attended. For freshman, enrollment patterns tended to be more predictable. An admissions deposit would enable UNF to predict actual enrollment. The funds that did not go toward tuition would be used to expand financial assistance, scholarships, and student academic and career counseling services at the University.

Dr. Kline noted that after the telephone briefing yesterday, Dr. Serwatka contacted Mr. Watterson regarding the proposed new admissions deposit. Mr. Watterson, who was present during the conference call, stated that he supported the proposal. Ms. Kendrick commented that UNF continued to increase its minority enrollment to ensure there were no barriers and had established similar procedures to those recommended along with the tuition increase. Ms. Kaye said a waiver process was to be established for students with financial need so they would not necessarily have to pay the $200 admission deposit. The committee responsible for the development of the waiver process had already found a couple of ways to determine financial need: students eligible for financial aid and freshmen given waivers on application fees.

Dr. Bowen requested that Ms. Kaye provide a chart of the effect of the deposit on undergraduate and graduate students. If the new admissions fee would not generate a lot of funds from graduate students, Trustee Bowen said he could be more inclined to support the fee for undergraduate but not for graduate students. Ms. Kaye agreed to provide this information to the FAC prior to the next Board of Trustees meeting. She said she would also contact other institutions and provide an assessment the institutions’ yield and conversion rates as well.

Adjournment

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 11:25 a.m.